Corn-topping machine.



A. F. TUCKER. CORN To'PPlNG MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 24. i913.

Patnted pr. 13, 1915.

A.F. TUCKER. comu TOPPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 24, 1913.

Eatented Apr. 13, 1915. A

la SHEETS-SHEET z.

@Imi/huwen Z I a@ JA. F. TUCKER.

CORN TOPPING MACHINE. APPLlcAHoN HLEU MAY 24. ma.

Patented Apr. 13, 1915.

3 BHEETSMSHEET 3 Tho' *W15 l in illilihsi i esplica',

Tf sii' @fiom 5' impar] Concern ii: lmewn that l@7 femmine Woei. e ser, #i ihe Unioni te'les, residing lv'i 'iI meshing, in the conn'y Franklin and @wie of Kansas, here invencefl cerisiii new und useful improvements inv Corn Topping lvfiechines, of which the foilowing is e specificaiio'n.

rThis inveneion has reference io improve ments in corn topping machines and ,it aims generally to provide a topping machine *which is adapted .for astschmen to e wegen body und is lesigneei primarily for cuiziing oi the hezuls of Kefir corn, broom cornf, cane, etc., :nifl for eli-vering the heads into e suitable receptacle adapted to be employe@ in conneciion with the inveniion.

More especially' the invention contenu plantes the provision of operiii'ging mechenisni which may he readily atecheii and detecherl from e wagon body, which in chicles e pair ci endless conveyers set ai en angle to each other, one of the conveyers adapted to feed the com stalk no the cutting blade of the machine, and the other adapted to convey che ops or the heads when severed from the stalk into the recep isole or wagon provided therefor.

A further object of the invention resicles in the provision of a corn op'ping machine wherein the corn or olier grain is acted upon after having been previously cui and conditioned by a harvesting machine, the action oi the machinesepmnting `the heads or tops of the corn from the stalk to permit subsequent use of eiher, independentof the other. i

The above and adrlitional objects ere nccoinolished by such means as are illustrated in their preferred embodiment in the accompa ying drawings, described in the fol lowing specification and then more particularly pointed out in tbeg'yfiipnencled claim forming e 'part of this application.

lin describing the invention in iieie-il ref erence wili be had to the accompanying ilmwings wherein. like characters denote like or correspendingv parts throi'ighoul; the several views and in which:

Figure l is e side elevation of a 'machine constructed in accordance with my inven tion; Fig. $2 is e longitiulinel sectional View; Fig. 3 is e top plan View; Fig'. i is e cross sectional View, one o' Sthe eonveyers being shown in elevation; en. 5 en en-v seeizion on the line 5-5 of liig fr El l i mi ille-:'15, Eil, is..

Before proceed ibe dreh-Winge to ilioi'i so ehe inet tez;-

ii; while i: simili. h after Arefer to the inreniiion es e corn flop" ping irmehiine5 the seine niey rcnclil'if utiliz/,ec!"N for removing she *Lope or endsof sugar cene, wheel; or other grains.

Referring now to *ehe drawings wfierein is illusireleel the preferred form o my invention, the numeral l designates s Wegen bed or body of any well known typ@ union. which the niaehiney comprising my invention, is arlaoteci 5o be deiachehly connecerl` An. engine cfr' any siiisble or ccnrenieni: size or i'ype mounted upon ehe Wegen hed l, one end thereof and is connected lio- *he niechine through the medium of ebelt 3 er ranged over the driven nulle)7 if of ehe erigine. zml e 'pulley' 5 forming' a nari, of the ,machine The pulley 5 is lrev'efi oiherwise iixeelly secured to e shaft (i eliencling ransrersely of lie Wagon herir' iinoi'rwhich it is mounted by ineens of suitable besiringrs 'i' provided therefor. the beni-ings being' detnehahljv secured to the4 body to permit the entire machine io be removed hercroni occasion ileiiizi'nfl. "cond pniley 8 is mounted upon the shall4 J reni iie puh leir 5, the pullej Fil having; e o it (l Arran 'ed thereover for iniwiri-nfl motion to simmer pulley lfll .rrrfninted upon :i Econci sli-nii; ll likewise exenfiinsj ri'zznsi' he li' oi: Wagon, bed-z1nfl parallel with and in spaced relation to the seid i'irsimentioned sheii (i. Upon the opposite and of the shaft l' l provide e circular cuttingr blade l2, the periph erV of which is provided with teeth for more eiiecuelly cutting the heads or `"Loos of the grain or corn in :i Umnner o be hereinafter fully described At the rear cnil oi the wagon body, another shaft 'll is Cletnchnbly secured through the medium of removable bearings 14, the seid shaft "i3 and the shzif. 6 having' :i conveyor', les naiefi in iis en tireiy by Jdie nmncrel l5 errocgeil h'ereover, for conveying: the corn or grainw eiflier hav ing been previously' cnt and conflitioncci by a harvesting9 machine, to the revolving out ting'blue 12 where the heads or 'tops of the grain are severed, the oiitting blade being disposed near the opposite enel of the conu veyer from the shaft 6 over which one emi of thc conve'fyer passes Strips 1.6 extend transversely oi ihc coni/'ever lfm ehe strips being uniformly spaced apart und provilefl wien e pluralityo teeth er eroiections es i fio

for more `eiiectually conveying the grain when placed upon the conveyer by the machine operator.

A second conveyer designated in its entirety by the numeral 18 is carried by the Wagon bed 1 and disposed at an angle to the first mentioned conveyer and directly beneath the cutting blade 12, the'said conveyer of which .the conveyer 18 operates. Uniyformly spaced apart strips 21 extend transversely of the conveyer 18, the said strips likewise being provided with projections 22 to facilitate the conveyance of the heads or grain tops throughoutthe length of the conveyer.

The'means for operating the conveyer 18 comprises a shaft 23 udisposedat the inner and lower end of thesaid conveyer frame within which it is journaled and over which one end ci the conveyer passes, the opposite end extending over a second shaft 24 journaled within theframe 20 and extending parallel with the shaft 23. A gear wheel 25 .is mounted upon one endof the shaft 18 of the conveyer 15, the gear 25 meshing into a beveled gear 26 carried by a stud shaft 27 'the latter being connected to the shaft 23 as illustrated at 29 in F ig. 3 of the drawings. This arrangement of the several shafts and gears will allow the conveyer 18 to be driven or operated according to the operation of the main conveyer 15 as one of the shaft of which the said'last mentioned conveyer passes imparts motion to the conveyer 18, as Aabove described.

Having described the operationof the two conveyers, it now'remains to describe the means employed for guiding the grain to the cutting blade 12 of the machine. A resilient or flexible plate member 30 is secured to the conveyer frame 20, one end of which is curved upwardly or away from the conveyer-.to allow the grain to pass thereunder as it is conveyed toward the forward end ot the machine bythe conveyer 15. To position the guide plate 30 and to support the same against upward movement I pro- .vide a rod 31 seoured'to the plate 30 at its curved end and to the wagon bedl on body as a't 32 at its rearend, this arrangementof the rod 31 at all times positioning the guide 30 directly over the head of the grain for forcing the same into the teeth of the cutting blade yl2.

A plate Support 32 is secured as at 33 beneath 't e-guide'member 30 as illustrated in said Fig. 3 of the drawings. To permit adjustment of the plate, an extension 34 is rovided, the said extension being adjustably secured tol the plate 32 through the mediumof a thumb nut and screw 35, the latter Working th'rou h an elongated slot or aperture 36 formed Within the said'extension 34. The outer extremity or edge of the plate 34 is extended upwardly as at 37 against the inner face of which the tops of the grain normally lie, this arrangement of the extension 34 preventing the grain tops from -extendin beyond the edge of the support 32', and orcing the same beneath the guide member 30 and into engagement with the blade 12 of the machine.

Any form of tightening device such as is shown at 38 may be employed for the purpose of tightenlng the belt 9 of the machine, while any form of guards 39 may be arranged over the shaft 11 for the obvious purpose of preventing injury; to` the machine operator by the revolvingv lade 12 of the machine.

The construction of the entire machine having been described in detail, a brief devided therefor, the latter having'been previously adjusted according tothe length or size of the grain acted upon. Motion being imparted to the conveyer 15 by the engine 2, it willv be seen that the grain is conveyed toward the forward Und of the machine, the tops or heads thereof passing beneath the guide plate 30 where they are fed to the teeth ofthe cutting blade 12. The blade being rotated in the manner above set forth, readily severe the tops of the grain from the stalk, the tops falling upon the conveyer 18, while the stalks remain u on the conveyer 15 where they are deposited into a receptacle carried either independent of"or.upon the wagon bed 1. The topsafter having been severed by the blade 12 are conveyed upwardly Iand at an angle to the wagon bed 1 by the conveyer 18 where they are finally deposited into either a wagon adapted to be drawn parallel with the machine or into a receptacle provided for that purpose, where they are free to be subsequently used as desired.

It will be seen from the above, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, that the guide member 30 forces the grain into direct engagement with the remamma volving blade i2; that both conveyers are.

operated from one and the same source of motive powerg'and that adjustment of the support plate 32 will permit grain of various sizes to be acted upon in the manner above set forth.

ln reduction to practice, I have found that the form of my invention, illustrated in the drawings and referred to in the above description, as the preferred embodiment, is the most efl'icient and practical; yet realizing that the conditions. concurrent with the adoption of my device will necessarily vary, I desire to emphasize the fact that various minor changes in details of construction, proportion and arrangement of partsmay be resorted to, when required, Without sacriz'icing any of the advantages of my invention, as defined in the appended claim.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new secure by Letters Patent is:

and desire to In a cutting machine, the combination with an endless conveyer, of a. rotary cutting blade, a substantially horizontally flat 25 one side of the an auxiliary plate member said iirst mentioned plate, said auxiliary plate having a plurality of slots formed therein, means through said slots and engaging the said plate member for supporting the said auX- iliary member in adjusted position, and a guide member arranged over the said lirst plate member supported at said conveyer, carried by the mentioned plate member for forcing the :25

extending 3c 

